Walkability is a problem in many American cities, and one horrible experience proved the need for sidewalks and education.
"My son had the police called on him for going for a walk," the poster wrote in a subreddit dedicated to the harmful effects of cars.
"Some a****** was concerned because there was a pedestrian and now my son is worried about the police and potentially worried about going for walks, which he has always enjoyed," they continued, noting their son was 20 years old and on the autism spectrum.
"I'm so tired of this. I'm grateful to this sub for educating me on carbrain and advocate for bike and pedestrian infrastructure in my community, but how do you advocate for attitude? How do you get rid of the 'Roads are for cars' and 'Why are you walking around' mentality?" they ended their rant.
Many people likened it to Ray Bradbury's "The Pedestrian," in which a man is arrested and taken to a psychiatric center for walking alone at night when everyone else is glued to their televisions.
Walking should be a low-lift endeavor that provides no hassles. But ever since the advent of motorized vehicles, walking has been criminalized. And it's more dangerous for people of color and those in low-income neighborhoods, who are disproportionately killed as pedestrians.
It's a frustratingly common problem for police to intrude on walkers as well. One mom got stopped multiple times, including when returning home with her child from a doctor's appointment.
There are bastions of promise. Chapel Hill and the unbefittingly named Carrboro in North Carolina are a haven for bicyclists and pedestrians, and a small Michigan town has been without cars since 1898 and features the country's only vehicle-free state highway.
Walking is a healthy activity, as it improves cardiovascular fitness, strengthens bones, reduces body fat, and boosts muscle power and endurance. It can also reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease and help manage high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and joint and muscle pain and stiffness.
"I will never get over the fact that my suburb is full of crosswalks but no sidewalks," one Redditor commiserated. "And (I assume) because of ADA regulations, there is a concrete ramp to nowhere on both sides of every crosswalk. F****** absurd."
Someone else joked: "Why would you want a sidewalk when you could have car? Car is good, unlike silly sidewalk you cannot drive on."
A few others hit the nail on the head, piggybacking on comments about "suburban paranoia" as well as racism and ethnocentrism in affluent communities.
"They want to be sure those [who] they deem should belong can access where they live," another user wrote. "Even if the lack of sidewalks hurts them."
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